"Ahh, ugh, uuugh."

  "Pant, pant..."

  "Damn it, that monkey... uggh."

  Honestly, this result was easy to see coming.

  After all, the Long-Armed Ape was far too strong to just be called a normal enemy.

  Ah, I guess fighting it head-on is not going to work.

  Tactics and strategy? Those ideas felt like a joke right now. Pns only work when the fighters are close in power. In a video game, how could level 5 characters ever beat a level 35 boss?

  Everyone is in terrible shape.

  The ape had hit the students over and over again.

  Their uniforms were ripped, their shields were cracked and close to breaking, and everyone was badly hurt and gasping for air.

  All of this disaster took only a few minutes.

  The Long-Armed Ape, which had been taking its time, suddenly got as hot as an engine and turned bright red. After that, it did not take long for the students to fall down.

  That is right, the ape had reached a new stage.

  The second phase. It had now become the Crimson Rage Ape.

  "When it gets like that, its power skyrockets."

  Its physical strength, physical defense, and magic defense all went up by two levels. Its personality also became incredibly brutal. On top of that, it liked to slowly py with its food before going for the kill.

  Exactly like what it was doing now.

  "Ugh, ughhhhh..."

  The ape reached out its huge hand, tightly grabbed Serena Sterling by the neck, and opened its disgusting mouth wide.

  "Keeeee, eeeeek!"

  Its jaw split into four pieces, showing hundreds of sharp teeth like a shark. It slowly moved closer to Serena.

  It was the cssic "grab and eat" attack pattern.

  "Ugh, uuugh! Let... let me go, aah!"

  Serena's face turned completely pale as she kicked and swung her arms. However, it was as useless as a butterfly stuck in a spider's web.

  "Kiiii, kiiii."

  The Crimson Ape seemed to enjoy the fear on her face. It moved its mouth toward her extremely slowly.

  "Is Diana Reed... able to help us at all?"

  Diana Reed was busy fighting a fierce battle against the Minotaur, so she had no time to save anyone else.

  She had almost run out of her superpower energy, so it looked like she was only fighting with her sword skills.

  She was so focused on the Minotaur that she probably did not even know how much danger the students were in.

  "Cough, cough. Serena... Serena...!"

  "Ha, ha, ugh, phew..."

  Wiping their blood away, Nina and Lily Pierce gasped for air. They gathered all their leftover strength to attack one more time.

  "Kiriri? Kiiii."

  Making fun of their hard work, the ape zily swung one arm. It easily blocked both of their attacks and hit them hard on the shoulder and side at the exact same time.

  Thud!

  "Ugh, ack."

  "Ugh."

  Letting out short groans, they rolled across the training room floor in a pitiful way.

  Now that the monster was a Crimson Ape, pretty much all of their attacks were completely useless. The ape ughed at them. It acted like it was daring them to try saving her again. The Crimson Ape slowly flicked its tongue and watched the students panic.

  So this is the end.

  Yes, this was as far as they could go.

  The students had fought bravely and tried their absolute best.

  However, this monster could not be beaten through normal fighting. Just surviving this long was impressive.

  After all, this was programmed to be an impossible battle in the game.

  If I let this go on any longer, someone would definitely die.

  I could not let anyone die no matter what, so it was finally time for me to end this.

  "..."

  I opened the water bottle I brought with me before the exam and poured the liquid onto my arrowhead.

  The sticky liquid completely covered the tip of the arrow.

  It had a very sweet smell.

  "Alright. This should work."

  What exactly did I just pour on my arrow?

  It was not a dangerous chemical or a deadly poison. It was just something you could buy anywhere: 99% pure apple juice.

  I am not joking. I am serious.

  It is literally just apple juice.

  If it were dangerous, I would never have been allowed to bring it into the Academy, and it would not be sold in normal stores.

  "Thinking about it now, this is so ridiculous."

  I did not put apple juice on my arrow during a life-or-death situation just as a joke.

  Seriously, this apple juice was the secret weapon needed to kill that monster.

  "What kind of crazy game logic is this, honestly?"

  Do you know the game called StarCraft?

  It was a huge strategy game that took over the nation a long time ago.

  In that famous game, there was a scary monster called the "Zergling."

  It was a cruel beast that could rip through heavy metal like it was paper, but it had a very silly weakness.

  What was that weakness?

  Lemon juice.

  It was not a prank. They were actually weak to lemon juice. The game's story said that Zerglings had a genetic allergy to lemons.

  It sounded like something fans would make up for a joke, but it was a real, official fact in the game.

  ...And then.

  The creators of Heroic Hearts Academy thought this silly idea was funny, so they decided to copy it as a tribute.

  They actually took it even further.

  They gave the Long-Armed Ape a deadly weakness to apple juice. If any apple juice got inside its body, it would take constant damage, and all of its stats would drop heavily.

  In gaming terms, an ape "poisoned" by apple juice would lose most of its attack and defense power, while also bleeding health over time.

  Simply put, apple juice was a fatal poison to that ape.

  "Of course, pyers could never find apples inside the game..."

  But this is reality now, not a game, right?

  I can bring apples inside with no problems at all.

  "Phew... Now..."

  I pulled back my bowstring and aimed my arrow right at the ape.

  The ape felt sure that my arrow was not a threat, so it just ughed carelessly.

  I could see Serena squeezed tightly in the ape's hand. She had her eyes shut tight.

  Seeing her like that made me feel a little guilty.

  I feel bad for the students who got hurt for no reason.

  Like I said earlier, if I used the apple juice right away, I could have killed the ape much faster and easier.

  Then the students would not have suffered so much pain and damage.

  But I purposely waited to use the apple juice.

  I wanted the students to experience fighting a truly strong monster themselves.

  Some of them might feel useless, and others might feel hopeless. However, this experience would not break them.

  Instead, this battle would show them exactly why they needed to get stronger.

  Students like them.

  The female lead, the main hero, the viliness, and the named side characters.

  They would constantly get dragged into dangerous situations while attending Vanguard Academy, whether they wanted to or not.

  Getting early combat experience was very good for them. It would help them survive future trials and py their true roles.

  Thinking about the future, giving Lily and the others some extra experience is a good idea.

  Since I am weak... I am going to need their help a lot ter on.

  With that in mind, I let go of the bowstring.

  The arrow flew incredibly fast and struck right inside the ape's open mouth.

  Smack!

  Serena Sterling bit her lip in pure anger.

  "Ugh. Ugh!"

  At first, she had fought the ape pretty well. But suddenly, its skin turned red, and it started knocking everyone down with crazy strength and speed.

  None of the students, not even Serena, were strong enough to fight back against it.

  "Kiiii, Kiik."

  That stupid ape.

  It was pying with them.

  Was it just showing off, or was it pure confidence? The Long-Armed Ape held Serena by the neck and dangled her in the air, acting like it was about to eat her at any second.

  "Kii, Kii."

  It ughed and stared at the fallen students, almost saying, "Come save her if you can." Because it was smart, it had a very cruel and nasty personality.

  The other students tried their best to rescue Serena, but nothing worked.

  With only their safe training weapons, doing any real damage was basically impossible.

  "Ugh, ugh, damn it."

  Serena gasped for air and cursed in frustration.

  Her breathing became shorter and weaker. The ape's sharp cws dug into Serena's soft skin. She could not breathe at all.

  "Ugh, ugh! Ugh!"

  She fought back desperately.

  She tried to pull the ape's hand away and punched its chest. But it only hurt her own hands. Its body was way too tough.

  Serena's face started turning purple. Her brain was running out of oxygen. The ape just grinned down at her.

  Laughing at her useless struggling, the ape squeezed its hand tighter around Serena's throat.

  Was it finally going to kill her? Was her time up?

  "...Am I seriously going to die here?"

  She still had so many things left to do.

  She had not earned her grandfather's respect yet, and she still needed to prove her worth to her siblings.

  She had a giant list of goals she needed to reach. Was this really how Serena's life would end?

  Even though she knew heroes always faced death, she had not even officially become one yet.

  To die like this... without finishing a single goal...?

  Me?

  "...Ah."

  All the strength slowly left her body.

  Her kicking legs and swinging arms lost their energy and hung down weakly.

  Her bright eyes started losing their light, and her heavy eyelids slowly began to close.

  "...Someone, save me."

  Anyone, please.

  "...Please... save me."

  Serena prayed desperately in her mind.

  Whoosh.

  And right at that moment...

  Smack.

  An arrow shot right inside the ape's open mouth.

  "Kiik? Kikik."

  ...Oliver Brooks?

  But it was useless.

  A simple arrow could never hurt a monster this strong...

  "Kiik? Kikik?! Kieeeeeeeeek!"

  The perfectly calm Crimson Ape suddenly let out a massive scream and threw up blood.

  What was happening?

  Why was the monster...

  "Kie?! Keek! Keek!"

  Acting like it was in terrible pain, it coughed up more blood and quickly threw Serena far across the room.

  "...!"

  Serena flew high into the air. However, because she cked oxygen, she could not ready herself for the nding. She started falling quickly toward the hard floor...

  "Ugh!"

  "Phew... are you okay, Serena?"

  "Cough, cough, cough... ha... Oliver... Brooks?"

  ...Because Oliver ran fast and caught her in time, she barely avoided dying.

  "Wake up, Serena!"

  "Ha, ha, ugh."

  She took deep breaths and slowly cleared her blurry vision. She looked over at the screaming ape monster in the distance.

  For some strange reason, it was rolling around in pain like it had been poisoned.

  "...I am awake now... I am fine, cough, cough. I am okay."

  With her mind clear again, Serena stood up strong and tightened her fists.

  "Kieeeeeek!"

  "Ha, ha!"

  Julian Vance and the ape were still fighting nearby.

  Unlike earlier, the monster had gotten incredibly slow, which made fighting it much easier.

  Did Oliver's arrow hit a weak point?

  She did not know exactly what was going on, but she had to take this chance. It was time to stop thinking and focus on winning.

  "Hup!"

  "Kiiiiik?!"

  Stab.

  A magic sword stabbed right into the jaw of the panicking ape.

  Great! Julian cheered in his head.

  The ape's tough skin felt way softer, so his bde cut through it much easier. It seemed like its defense had dropped completely. Julian did not understand why, but he finally felt hope. Alright, we can win this. Julian yelled out loud.

  "...Serena Sterling!"

  "Got it, go!"

  Hearing Julian's shout, Serena ground her teeth. She grabbed her spear off the floor and threw it with everything she had.

  Magic Spear Throw.

  The glowing blue spear, packed with magic, crashed into the ape's stomach. It did not go all the way through, but it dealt a ton of damage unlike before.

  "Ugh, ahhhh! Die, you stupid ape!"

  The ape stumbled back just as Nina screamed loudly and charged at it.

  One of her arms was injured and hard to move, but she refused to miss this opening.

  "Just die! I said die!"

  "Kiik, Kiik?! Kieeeeeeeek?!"

  Smack! Pow! Bam!

  She punched the ape with all her remaining strength. Skin tore and blood spilled everywhere.

  But she refused to stop hitting it.

  She could not let the ape recover at all.

  "Ha!"

  "Ugh, ugh, huk."

  "Ha, ha. Ha."

  Soon, it was not just Nina. Every student who could still move rushed in to attack the ape together.

  The Long-Armed Ape could not fight back anymore. All it could do was cough up blood.

  "This monster is way too tough... seriously..."

  "Phew."

  How long had they been fighting?

  "Is it... is it finally dead?"

  "...Probably."

  The completely beaten ape finally stopped moving, meeting its end.

  "Ugh, ugh. Ha. Are you kids still alive?"

  "Instructor..."

  Boom! The Minotaur's giant body hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

  A sword was buried deep inside the Minotaur's chest.

  Diana Reed gasped for breath and quickly checked on the students.

  Nobody died, right?

  Even though they were badly injured, thankfully, everyone was alive. It was a massive relief.

  "...Did you kids actually kill that ape?"

  "Ha, ha... We just got lucky."

  Luck had nothing to do with it. That monster was incredibly hard to kill.

  To be honest, even professional heroes would have struggled to beat it.

  "...How in the world did they do it?"

  Just as she was thinking about it...

  "2nd Security Team! Right over there! Save the students! Call the emergency medics!"

  "Let Team 1 handle those monsters!"

  "Is that a Minotaur? Did Diana Reed kill it by herself?"

  Far away... the academy's security team finally showed up.

  They were an expert monster hunting group made of real heroes.

  "...Wow, they sure got here fast."

  Thud! Lily Pierce sat heavily on the floor and gave a sarcastic smile.

  This is not some silly action movie with police officers.

  Why do the guards always show up right after the fight is already over?